BURNABY, B.C. – The Western Washington University Softball team lives to see another day in the 2023 season.
After enduring a tough 12-4 loss in six innings to Saint Martin's to open the 2023 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, the No. 3 seed Vikings defeated No. 4 Western Oregon in an elimination game 6-3. WWU will play in another elimination game Friday at Beedie Field on Burnaby Mountain against either No. 1 Northwest Nazarene or No. 2 SMU.
The Vikings (25-22) were led by a standout performance from GNAC Freshman of the Year Hailey Rath, who combined to go 6-for-7 with two home runs, a double and five RBI in the pair of games Thursday. The home runs were No. 6 and No. 7 on the season, while extending her program freshman record with 25 extra-base hits.
Expected inclement weather in Burnaby Friday has moved the first game between NNU and SMU up to 10 am, with WWU facing the losing team in an elimination game at 12:30 pm. All updates on game times, schedule updates and links to follow the games live can be found at GNACSports.com.
The Vikings opened the day with a 12-4 loss against No. 3 seed Saint Martin's in six innings.
WWU received a 3-for-3 performance at the plate by freshman shortstop Hailey Rath, recording the first multi-homer game of her career. Rath gave the Vikings a 1-0 lead with a two-out, solo home run in the top of the 1st inning, but Saint Martin's would take control of the game in the 2nd inning.
Viking senior starting pitcher Mareena Ramirez was called for numerous illegal pitches, which led to an out-of-tempo outing from the GNAC Pitcher of the Year. Ramirez yielded three hits and four runs (2 ER) in 2.1 innings to take the loss falling to 16-7 on the season.
The Saints scored a pair of runs each in the 2nd and 3rd innings and three more runs in the 4th inning to build a 7-1 lead. WWU scored a pair of runs in 5th inning on a single by Amaya Davis and Rath hit her second homer of the game in the 6th inning to pull the Vikings to within three runs at 7-4.
SMU put the game away scoring five runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to bring the eight-run rule into play. Shortstop Destiny Conerly hit a two-run home run and center fielder Shay Lopes hit a walk-off three-run home run to end the contest.
Saints starting pitcher Tia Ridings (16-4) earned the win allowing nine hits and three runs (2 ER) in 4.0 innings and relief pitcher Chloe Leverington picked up her league-leading 13th save of the season.
Conerly went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI and Lopes was 3-for-4 with a GNAC Championships single-game record six RBI.
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SMU 12, WWU 4 (May 4, 2023 at Burnaby, B.C.) - 6 inn.
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Score by Innings
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1
|
2
|
3
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4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
|
R
|
H
|
E
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LOB
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Record
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Western Washington
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1
|
0
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0
|
0
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2
|
1
|
x
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-
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4
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10
|
2
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9
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24-22
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Saint Martin's
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0
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2
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2
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3
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0
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5
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x
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-
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12
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12
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2
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5
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29-16
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WWU – Ramirez, Baker (3), Slater (5) and Paulson
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SMU – Ridings, Leverington (5) and Schultz
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Win: Ridings (16-4) Save: Leverington (13) Loss: Ramirez (16-7)
WWU HR: Rath 2 (6,7) SMU HR: Conerly (6), Lopes (3)
Time of Game: 1:52 Att: 79
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The Vikings staved off elimination with a 6-3 victory over Western Oregon in the second game of the day.
WWU took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning on a pair of run-scoring groundouts. The Wolves answered in the top of the 4th inning going ahead 3-2 with one swing of the bat on a base loaded double by left fielder Katelyn McGough.
Trailing 3-2, the Vikings went ahead for good with four runs in the bottom of the 5th inning with freshman shortstop Hailey Rath once again providing the big hit with a two-run double to the left field gap.
Starting pitcher Mareena Ramirez worked out of several jambs in her outing, bouncing back from the game one loss to secure the complete-game victory. Ramirez improved to 17-7 on the season scattering 10 hits and allowing three runs moving into a tie for 4th in WWU single-season history in victories.
Rath completed her nearly perfect day at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Senior designated player Kinzey Williams (2-for-4, 2 R) and junior right fielder Isabel Cargill (2-for-3, R) also tabbed multi-hit games as the top three hitters in the Vikings lineup combined for the team's seven hits.
WOU starter Maddie Mayer (13-12) was saddled with the loss allowing six hits and six runs (5 ER) in 4.0 innings. Shortstop Bella Valdes (2-for-4, R), catcher Natalie Willoughby (2-for-4) and second baseman Logan Carlos (2-for-3, R, BB) each had multi-hit games for the Wolves.
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WWU 6, WOU 3 (May 4, 2023 at Burnaby, B.C.)
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Score by Innings
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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|
R
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H
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E
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LOB
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Record
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Western Oregon
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0
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0
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0
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3
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0
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0
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0
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-
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3
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10
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2
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10
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22-30
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Western Washington
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0
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0
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2
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0
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4
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0
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x
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-
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6
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7
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1
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8
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25-22
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WOU – Mayer, Smith (5) and Willoughby
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WWU – Ramirez and Paulson
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Win: Ramirez (17-7) Save: None Loss: Mayer (13-12)
WWU HR: None WOU HR: None
Time of Game: 2:16 Att: 105
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GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS BRACKET
The four-team, double-elimination tournament is being played at Beedie Field on Burnaby Mountain in British Columbia. Here is a look at the tournament schedule with all games streamed live online at GNAC.tv. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will receive the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships West Regional:
Thursday, May 4:
Game 1: No. 2 Saint Martin's 12, No. 3 Western Washington 4 (6 inn.)
Game 2: No. 1 Northwest Nazarene 2, No. 4 Western Oregon 1
Game 3: No. 3 Western Washington 6, No. 4 Western Oregon 3 (WOU eliminated)
Friday, May 5:
Game 4: No. 2 Saint Martin's vs. No. 1 Northwest Nazarene, 12:00 pm
Game 5: No. 3 Western Washington vs. Loser Game 4, 2:30 pm (Elimination Game)
Saturday, May 7:
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 12:00 pm
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 2:30 pm
GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
WWU has advanced to play in six of the 10 GNAC Championship tournaments, winning titles in two of the last five seasons (2017 & 2021). The Vikings are 9-7 all-time in GNAC Championships play. Western had a six-game GNAC Championships winning streak snapped last season going 0-2 in the postseason tournament held in Ellensburg.
All games of the GNAC Softball Championships will be live-streamed through the conference's YouTube page at GNAC.tv. All games will also feature live statistical updates with links at GNACSports.com.
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023 season:
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RECORD BREAKDOWN
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Overall
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25-22
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GNAC
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13-11
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Non-Conference
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11-10
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Postseason
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1-1
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Streak
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W1
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Home
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6-3
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Viking Field
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5-3
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Away
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7-14
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Neutral
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12-5
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vs. Ranked Teams
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1-2
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1-Run Games
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8-8
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2-Run Games
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5-3
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Extra Innings
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3-2
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Shutouts
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6-5
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BY UNIFORM
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Black
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11-6
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Blue/White
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5-5
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Navy
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5-3
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Gray
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2-6
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White/Navy
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1-1
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Gray/Blue
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1-1
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The WWU softball program enters its 31st season in 2023. WWU advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the fifth time in program history in 2021 after winning the GNAC Tournament. WWU has posted a winning record 19 times during the 30-year history of the program, which won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season to record the school's first ever team national title. During the nine-season span from 2014-2022, the Vikings combined to go 224-172 and won a pair of GNAC Tournament titles in 2017 & 2021.
